Thill-coupling.



No. 694,4; M Pdtented mar; 4, I902.

'm. OLORA.

THIL L COUPLING.

(Application filed. June 24, i991.)

(No Model.) I

wiigesscs 19729101 responding parts in all the figures of the draw- To all whom it may concern.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MORRIS OLORA, OF HARVARD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF THREE-FOURTHS TO CHARLES W. YOUNG, OF HAR- VARD, ILLINOIS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 694,411, dated March 4., 1902.

Application filed June 24, 1901.

Beit known that I, MORRIS OLORA, a citizen of the United States, residing at Harvard, in the county of McHenry and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Thill-Ooupling, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in thill-couplings.

The object of the present invention is to improvethe construction of thill-couplings and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient combined thill-couplingand antirattler adapted to be readily applied to any ordinary axleclip and coupling-iron and capable of enabling the parts to be readily uncoupled to permit poles and thills to be removed and changed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character in which the spring for preventing the parts from rattling will operate as a tension device-for holding the locking mechanism in its engaging position to retain the couplingebolt in position.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings,v and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figurel is a perspective view of a thill-coupling constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a trans- Verse sectional view of the same. Fig.3 is a detail perspective view of the attachment.

Like numerals of reference designate corings.

1 designates a coupling-bolt provided with an upwardly-extending arm 2 and arranged in perforated ears 3 of an axle-clip 4and passing through the eye 5 of a coupling-iron 6, whereby the latter is connected to the axleclip. The axle-clip, which is constructed in the usual manner, is provided with forwardlyextending perforated cars, which are spaced apart to receive the eye of. thecoupling-iron 6, and the latter may be connected with a pair of shafts or with a tongue or pole. The upwardly-extending arm 2 is perforated for the reception of a pivot 7 of a transverse bar 8, and the latter is preferably provided at one end with a forwardly-extending arm 9, which has its terminal reduced and rounded to form Serial No. 65,861. (No model.)

the pivot 7. The transverse bar 8 is adapted to swing upward and downward on the pivot 7 to carry a cushioning device 10 into and out of engagement with the eye of the coupling transverse bar, and itis adapted to be arranged at an angleto the same when the said bar 8 is swung upward and downward to arrange the cushion between the coupling-iron and the axle-clip and to remove it therefrom. The outer or free end is perforated for the reception of a rivet 14, which pivots a bellcrank lever 15, which consists of a short arm and a long arm, the short arm being connected to the freeend of the transverse bar and extending upward therefrom. The short arm is reduced in thickness, and the long arm of the bell-crank'lever is adapted when in a horizontal position to lie upon and be supported by the transverse bar, and it carries a book 16, which interlocks with the adjacent eye of the axle-clip, whereby the transverse bar is held against upward movement and the pivot-bolt is retained in the perforations of the eyes and the coupling-iron.

The hook 16, which is provided with an L- shaped engaging arm at its lower end, has its upper terminal bent at an angle and arranged in a perforation 17 of the bell-crank lever to form a pivot, and when the bell-crank lever is oscillated to carry it from the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 to that illustrated in full lines in the same figure the upper end of the hook is carried from a point outside of the pivot of the lever to a p'ointbetween the same and the cushion, and the latter is compressed by such movement, where by it is adapted to hold the hook in engagement with the ear of the axle-clip. The engaging portion or arm of the hook extends inward beneath the adjacent perforated ear of the axle-clip, and the terminal of such arm the car, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings. hen the hook is in engagement with the perforated ear, the parts are firmly held in the position shown in Fig. l and the lever is locked against upward movement. a

Instead of employing the V-shaped spring, any other form of cushion may be provided for preventing the parts from rattling.

It will be seen that the attachment, as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, is exceedingly simple and inexpensive in construction, and that it is adapted to be readily applied to any ordinary vehicle in place of the coupling-bolts thereof, and that it is capable of preventing the parts from rattling, and will enable poles and thills to be quickly removed and changed without the use of a wrench or other tool.

What I claim is 1. In a device of the class described, the combination with an axle-clip having perforated ears, and a coupling-iron, of a transverse pivot-bolt passing through the ears and the coupling-iron, a cushion arranged at the back of the coupling-iron and engaging the same, a transverse bar located above the said ears and pivotally connected with the bolt and carrying the cushion, a lever fulcrumed on the bar, and a hook connected with the lever and arranged to engage one of the perforated ears, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with an axle clip, perforated ears, and a coupling-iron, of a pivot-bolt passing through the ears and the coupling-iron, a transverse bar located above the perforated ears and in rear of the coupling-iron and pivotally connected with the pivot-bolt, a cushion loeated in rear of the coupling-iron and engaging the same and secured to the transverse bar, a lever pivoted to the transverse bar and extending longitudinally thereof,and a hook secured to the lever and depending therefrom and arranged to engage one of the perforated ears, substantially as described.

3. A device of the class described comprising a coupling-bolt having an upwardly-extending arm, atransverse bar located in rear of the boltand provided with a forwardly-extending arm pivoted to the arm of the boat, a cushion depending from the bar, a bellcrank lever fulcrumed on the bar at the free end thereof and arranged to be supported by the same, and a depending hook carried by the lever, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoihg as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

MORRIS OLORA.

IVitnesses:

O. J. HENDRICKS, C. W. YOUNGS. 

